Since the pandemic began, millions of people have transitioned from a life filled with commuting and office work to a life completely at home. While working from home comes with tons of benefits, there are also difficulties and challenges that come from working from home.
One of the biggest challenges that many of us are left to deal with while working from home is staying focused. Everyone is constantly bombarded with a plethora of distractions at home; from children to smartphones to pets to smart TVs, it’s extremely difficult to keep your attention on your work.
Luckily, there are ways you can indulge in the distractions at appropriate times while making sure you get all of your work done.
Have a Schedule
One of the most important things you need to do if you’re going to refrain from distracting yourself at work is having a schedule. Scheduling your time helps you stay on track; if you don’t have a schedule, you’re likely to spend far more time than you need to on some projects while neglecting to spend time on others.
Having a schedule also lets you build time into your day to indulge in distractions; you can plan to take an hour for lunch if you can fit it into your schedule with else you need to get done for that day.
Use Phone Time Wisely
An essential aspect of building a schedule is having time to use your phone while making sure that it isn’t distracting you during time set aside for work. If you find that your phone is a constant distraction, one thing you need to do is simply turn it off during times when you’re scheduled to be working.
Phones are literally designed to be addictive, so it makes sense that you might naturally check your phone every few minutes but using it too often during the day will make it hard to complete all of your tasks. Build in time for you to use social media during your day; that way, you can get rid of the urge to look at your phone and you can focus on your work.
Know Yourself
All else aside, you need to know yourself and your situation to know exactly what’s distracting to you. Some people working from home are going to be most distracted by their spouse or their kids; these people will need to work with their family to find a way to work without distractions.
Other people might struggle to stay focused if they don’t get a good night’s rest or if they don’t eat a healthy breakfast; you know yourself better than anyone else so you need to make sure you’re in the proper mindset to stay focused.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re working from home or in the office, staying focused is one of the biggest challenges everyone faces. Make sure to schedule out your time so you can use all the time in your day wisely. Don’t use your phone during scheduled working times; turn it off if you need to. Above all, know yourself. Eliminate your personal distractions and you’ll be more productive than ever!
Victor Elmann 